Pollution News

Scott's Antarctic work lives on in new carbon survey

Posted Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:17:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Tiny Antarctic organisms are growing more quickly because of an increase in carbon say scientists who used the polar legend's century's old collections. Scientists have been examining tiny creatures called bryozoans. These sea-bed dwellers feed on microscopically small marine plants called phytoplankton, which need carbon dioxide to survive.

Now you can check your nitrogen footprint too

Posted Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:22:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Excess nitrogen is responsible for marine dead-zones, global warming and smog, and now two scientists want us all to measure our nitrogen footprints. Scientists at the University of Virginia have produced a 'nitrogen footprint' calculator to raise awareness of an environmental problem little known outside specialist circles.

An innovative way of re-using contaminated harbour sediment

Posted Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:12:00 GMT by Michael Evans

A new nethod of making building material using contaminated harbour sediment. Hazardous chemicals and heavy metals that were once commonly used in heavy industry are now rightly subject to strict controls, but their legacy lives on in the environment where polluted soil is a constant problem when a former industrial site is being redeveloped for other uses.

UK project gets the fat out of VAT

Posted Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:25:00 GMT by Rachel England

Volunteer group encourages turning waste oil into vehicle fuel. An novel new project in Birmingham sees residents hitting back at the recent VAT rise by turning waste fat into vehicle fuel. The 'Grease Lightening' scheme is working with a disadvantaged Birmingham community to encourage them to recycle their fat, oil and grease.

Hudson River fish evolve toxic immunity

Posted Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:34:03 GMT by Lucy Brake

Scientists have discovered fish feeding at the bottom of Hudson River have developed a gene that means they have a special immunity to PCB toxins. Polychlorinated biphenyls, otherwise known as PCBs started to be used in many commercial and industrial products in the late 1920s and up until the late 1970s, when they were finally banned, they polluted major rivers and waterways around the world.

Droughts may turn Amazon Rainforest into major polluter, scientists warn

Posted Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:55:00 GMT by David Hewitt

Should droughts in the Amazon Basin become more frequent, the days of the rainforest offsetting man-made carbon emissions are set to come to an abrupt end. The days of the Amazon Rainforest acting as a natural buffer against man-made carbon emissions may be drawing to a close. In fact, not only could the South American forest soon lose its status as the planet's most-important 'carbon sink'

Electric technology zaps away water pollution

Posted Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:48:01 GMT by Laura Goodall

Zapping microbes with electricity could replace tonnes of chemicals used in cleaning up mining wastewater, thanks to scientists who have developed a new water treatment system. Microbes are already used in conventional wastewater treatments to mop up contaminants by adding or removing electrons. But to work effectively, they need to be 'fed' using vast amounts of nutrients and chemicals.

Carpooling on the decline as solo driver numbers rise

Posted Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:40:00 GMT by Lucy Brake

Carpooling was once believed to be one of the answers to our traffic congestion and pollution woes, but the latest research shows a picture of decreasing car pooling figures and increasing solo drivers. In the 1980s about one out of every four American was a part of the great car pooling phenomena. Sharing a ride to work was the thing to do and many organisations encouraged and even actively facilitated their employees to be involved in car pooling.

China overtook the United States as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter in November and is beginning to introduce controls to limit the environmental degradation that accompanies its rapid industrialisation. Already the planet's largest energy consumer and polluter, China has long taken the position that it is the industrialised nations who should be taking up the biggest burden of emissions cuts.

Good clean water as UK rivers enjoyed great decade

Posted Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:30:00 GMT by Simon Kent

The UK's rivers have enjoyed a great decade. The Environment Agency want this to continue. The UK's Environment Agency has defined the last decade as 'the best for rivers since the industrial revolution'. With dramatic improvements in water quality and the general environment around rivers the results have been seen in the recovery of wildlife in the British countryside.

A recent scientific expedition looking at plastic levels in the Mediterranean Sea has revealed the severity of the micro-plastic pollution problem. The research work has been completed by Mediterranean EnDangered (MED), an international programme bringing together scientists, teachers, sailors, artists and associations for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea.

Unsafe disposal of water waste in Pennsylvania

Posted Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:45:00 GMT by Paromita Pain

The state of Pennsylvania is in the midst of controversy since last week when it was discovered that the liquid that gushes from its gas wells is only partially treated for substances that could be
environmentally harmful, then dumped into rivers and streams from which communities get their drinking water. This creates water that is salty to taste and harmful to health.

Pacific ''Plastic Debris'' area not as big as previously estimated

Posted Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:33:04 GMT by Julian Jackson

There is a large amount of plastic rubbish floating in the oceans but the claims about the Great Garbage Patch in the middle of the Pacific between North America and Japan are exaggerated according to research by Oregon State University.

A New Year gift of dead birds and fish?

Posted Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:32:51 GMT by Paromita Pain

The state of Arkansas is ringing in New Year in a very peculiar way. On New Year's Eve 2000 birds fell dead out of the sky and in another incident last week, thousands of fish washed up dead on the shores of the Arkansas River. Officers are saying its disease and not really pollution but environmentalists are saying pollutions and the use of fireworks could be the cause.

Soil takes years to recover from pollution spills

Posted Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:50:01 GMT by Michael Evans

Soil damaged by pollution spills that include heavy metal can take many years to recover. On 25 April 1998, a tailings dam of the Los Frailes lead-zinc mine at Aznalcollar near the Spanish town of Seville suddenly failed and released 4-5 million cubic meters of toxic tailings slurries and liquid into nearby Rio Agrio, a tributary to Rio Guadiamar.

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Auto-Immune Deficiency Disease is very much an issue still although many, young and old, ignore it. Those who can afford to spend our health service cash on drugs survive well, but in Africa, the support for prevention or relief is almost nil.

While the world ponders climate change, Texas, which suffers badly from drought, has been trying to frack its way forward. It now seems these workers will have to return home and that oil is not the future. It has lasted over a century, but the oil executives are now grasping at straws, instead of embracing renewable or at least less polluting energies. New jobs will have to be found, but this is not the first time oil has gone bust!

When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.